Ahhh...
Full Metal Jacket. For me, out
of all the Kubrick films made, FMJ
is the most watchable. I wonder why that is? The film is watchable,
and yet stays true to being a Kubrick film. Here I am, a guy who
basically missed the American experience in Vietnam, and yet the
film really evokes in me that feeling of dread at being caught in a
worthless endeavor. I'm too young to really remember the whole
Vietnam thing. But if you really look at this film, it's not REALLY
about Vietnam, is it? It's about the futility of doing ANYTHING that
isn't believed in. It's about what happens when something is pushed
too far. It's about the act of dying.

Full Metal Jacket is a savage,
and sometimes funny, look at where we all stand on that line of life
and death. It follows a group of young marines, from their first day
of boot camp, all the way through and into their experiences of war.
The main object of our attention is Joker, played by Matthew Modine.
He's fine as "our eyes" through the whole thing, but the
breakout performances here are Vincent D'Onofrio, as the slightly
handicapped Gomer, and Lee Ermey, as their Drill Instructor. These
two explode off the screen, and the world of movies is better for
it. Sadly, Ermey has sort of faded into playing caricatures of this
role. D'Onofrio has actually made more of a name for himself,
especially after his incredible turn in a landmark episode of
Homicide: Life on the Street,
when he played a man trapped under a subway train. That was tough to
watch. Never mind his appearances in The
Newton Boys and Men in Black
- good roles for sure, but he is really capable of much more than
that (see The Whole Wide World,
and then come back and talk to me).

When you look at FMJ, you see
three separate vignettes: boot camp, the cease-fire invasion, and
the sniping in Hue City. All three stand as tightly wound segments,
but together they have an even greater impact. Like a grenade spiked
with shrapnel, either way... you're definitely gonna get it. I
wouldn't say that FMJ is the
greatest war film ever made, but it sure is one of the greatest
reasons why I wouldn't volunteer anytime soon.

So it's fitting that, as great as this movie is, it gets A+
treatment on DVD. Originally released as part of Warner's first Stanley
Kubrick Collection, the disc was merely okay. But the
colors are bright in this newly remastered edition - part of
Warner's new Kubrick Collection.
The dark tones are solid and the image is artifact-free. I really
couldn't believe how much better this version looked over the
previous edition. That disc was okay for the most part, but couldn't
shake an overly artifacty image throughout the film. And yes, this
new disc is also presented in full frame - regardless of what you
read anywhere else (or what you think yourself), this is the whole
picture as Kubrick intended it to be seen at home. End of
discussion.

Also remastered is the sound, which went from a unimpressive
straight mono, that didn't pack the punch it should, to a glorious
Dolby Digital 5.1 track. Right from the opening, the new audio seems
to set you down in a different film. It really sounds great now. I'm
almost at a loss for words. I have to thank Warner for fixing the
problems we all had with the previous disc. Kubrick deserved better,
and they gave it to him.

The only extra on both versions of this DVD is the trailer. I still
would have liked to have seen Vivian Kubrick's behind-the-scenes
footage (which she shot on set a la The
Shining), but I doubt we ever will. I just loved what she
gave us before, and would have to think there's some magic in this
unseen footage as well.

Full Metal Jacket is a pretty
remarkable film. And it now looks and sounds remarkable on DVD. You
guys have to see these discs. The previous set made me sick, but
this new set makes me feel rejuvenated about DVD. And it's the fans
that forced this out, don't forget that. We complained to high
heaven about the other box set, and Warner listened to us and spent
the money to remaster and restore these films. And it shows. Man,
does it show. But don't take my word on it; see for yourself when
they hit store shelves.